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mairc's avatar
mairc
Helpful | Level 5
7 years ago
Solved

superduper and smart-sync problem

I am using "superduper" for years to make a 1:1 backup of my macbookpro's SSD. It's in addition to TimeMachine and allows me to work (nearly) without interruption if the computer or it's drive fails.

Since I enabled Dropbox smart-sync on my dropbox business account, it looks like that superduper is also trying to backup online-only files. That means, that I will need more storage on the backup volume than the actual size of the macbookpro's SSD. Moreover, it will not be possible to restore an exact 1:1 copy, because this will not fit on the SSD again.

Any suggested solution from the community?

Kind regards, Christian

 

 

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  • Lusil's avatar
    Lusil
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Hey Christian! 
     
    Initially, if you’re using a third party app to back-up your files, please note that files set to be online-only may be prompted to be downloaded as local due to the app’s processes. You can also check this thread out which discusses a similar scenario a bit more in-depth (although it refers to Time Machine, you may find it relevant).
     
    Furthermore, you mention:
    mairc wrote:

    I will need more storage on the backup volume than the actual size of the macbookpro's SSD.

    If you’re looking by any chance to move your Dropbox folder to a new location, I’d kindly recommend having a look at this article for more info and ideas on what to bear in mind. 
     
    Let me know if you have any other questions!
    • mairc's avatar
      mairc
      Helpful | Level 5
      7 years ago

      Hey Lusil,

      thank you and of course you are right and I also understand the beckgrounds, but unforunately: this does not solve the problem. 

      If there is anybody how can suggest  a working solution (maybe another tool than superduper?) I would be very lucky. And I am sure, I am not the only one...

      Christian

      • jk12's avatar
        jk12
        Explorer | Level 3
        7 years ago

        Hi:

        I just had exactly the same problem and would really like Dropbox support to suggest a solution.

        Details: I've been using SmartSync with many of my files set to Online Only in two different Super Duper accounts (1 work, 1 personal). When Super Duper made a backup (bootable clone) of my 500GB MacBook Pro, the size of that backup was a whopping 895GB. Of course, restoring from the clone filled the MacBook Pro and then caused the restore to fail for lack of space.

        The wonderful Super Duper support guy figured out it had something to do with Dropbox files being backed up even though they are marked Online Only. He suggested writing a Super Duper Copy Script to restore all files except those in my two Dropbox accounts. That worked for one of the Dropbox accounts; the second Dropbox account did not get ignored and tried to restore anyway. Help please.

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